Ratings edge up

PARIS - French President Nicolas Sarkozy's approval ratings have edged up from rock-bottom lows, with 31 percent declaring themselves satisfied with his work in April, a poll showed on Saturday.

The survey published in a preview of Sunday paper Journal du Dimanche showed a one percent increase over March, when ratings in various polls were hovering around all-time lows amid policy blunders and public gaffes by cabinet members. Sarkozy's center-right UMP party was badly beaten in regional elections in March, punished by voters for a weak economy and rising unemployment, which has topped 10 percent.

While France has actually fared better than most of its neighbors in the economic downturn, the government has failed to sell that message. The poll of 1,840 people was carried out between April 15 and 23 - partly before Sarkozy spoke out in favor of a public ban on face-covering Islamic veils on Wednesday.